Several HP EliteBook 8 G2i laptops repeatedly lose and restore their USB-C monitor-dock connection every 15–45 seconds. The monitors provide up to 65 W of power, and other laptop models—including the EliteBook 8 G1i—work normally with the same displays. The issue occurs with multiple Dell models, including the P3421W and P3425WE, as well as Samsung displays. Event Viewer logs Event ID 506, described as an AC/DC display burst. The only dependable workaround so far is connecting a separate power supply to the laptops. All systems have BIOS version 01.02.08, Windows 11 25H2 with the September out-of-band update, and current Windows Update drivers, including Intel graphics driver 32.0.101.8831. Updating drivers through HPIA did not resolve the problem. Has anyone seen this behavior with the EliteBook 8 G2i, or found a permanent fix?
2 Answers
We had a somewhat similar USB-C dock problem with a ViewSonic docking monitor, although ours mainly affected the Ethernet connection after one to three hours. Firmware and vendor driver updates did not help. Checking the network adapter revealed that Windows was using a very old Realtek RTL8153 driver, despite the systems being relatively recent. Installing a current driver for the adapter resolved the issue on our test machines. It may be worth checking the actual USB dock component and its hardware ID rather than relying only on Windows Update, though this may not explain the power-related reconnects in your case.
I tried updating the BIOS and drivers through HPIA, but it made no difference. The same disconnect-and-reconnect behavior happened across all three of our affected laptops, so it does not appear to be an isolated hardware failure.
Do you remember where you obtained the newer RTL8153 driver? The systems I checked also report a driver dated September 2015.